England were eagerly awaiting the results of PCR tests after four Covid cases in the camp, but veteran Jimmy Anderson on Monday said they are keen to finish the Ashes series in Australia.
Hours before the start of the second day in the third Test in Melbourne, four members of the England party – two support staff and two family members – tested positive for coronavirus.
The team and management then had to undergo Rapid Antigen (RAT) tests as they were about to leave their hotel for the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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He was completely sanitized barely 45 minutes before the start of the game, but he should also have a PCR test as a precaution.
England bowler Anderson said the team was ready to board the bus when they were ordered to undergo RAT tests.
“As far as I know, the whole sports group likes it. We have followed safety protocols around the dressing room, wearing masks and maintaining distance where possible,” he said the second day after the stumps. said.
“We’re all doing PCR tests right now and obviously we need to clear them all if that’s possible, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the results are.”
Anderson said the England team had not been informed of the plan should anyone test positive.
Australian broadcaster The Seven Network also said there was a positive case among its staff working at MCG, prompting a last-minute change to their commentary team.
Powered by the Omicron edition, coronavirus cases are on the rise in Australia – particularly in Sydney – where the fourth Test is set to begin on January 5 before the conclusion of the Ashes in Hobart.
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The state of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, is reporting more than 6,000 cases daily.
Nevertheless, Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley said the plan was to set with the Ashes.
“It is absolutely the plan, there is nothing to suggest otherwise. We will rely on protocol,” he told reporters, before warning: “It is a day-to-day proposal.”
– eager to move on –
England faced a similar scenario earlier this year when the fifth Test of their home series against India was called off after several cases among the spectators’ support staff.
Anderson said he was keen to finish the Ashes series, although England suffered another heavy defeat.
“That is the plan. Then, it will depend on the PCR tests and in what condition it will leave us,” he said.
“As long as the groups on the field today are negative, I don’t see why we can’t move forward.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins, who missed the second Ashes Test because he was in Covid isolation, said the dramatic events on Monday were a “sign of the times”.
“You have to be quite flexible,” he told sports broadcaster Sen.
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